bottom paint?

[GKT]

okay so im relatively new to boating and i just boat a 20ft center console that needs some bottom paint. i can see fiberglass in some areas. i have never painted a boat or anything so i dont know what to do. what kind of paint do i need and where do i get it? how do i put it on? do i need to sand the old stuff down? any advice

 

[Eric 3.7LX Alpha 1]

Re: bottom paint?

While I'm no expert, I think you only need bottom paint if the boat is left in the water. In fact certain bottom paints need to be placed in the water a specified time after applied.

I trailer mine and have been using Topside paint as bottom paint for about 6-years now and it has held up well. Wash it after each use. Just repainted this year. Sand off all loose old stuff first. Noticed the boat picks up couple MPH with fresh new paintjob.

http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wc...toreNum=10104&subdeptNum=10302&classNum=10304

If you intend to keep in in the water none of this applies, and someone else will have to chime in.

 

[Fireman431]

Re: bottom paint?

Are you keeping the boat in the water all of the time or are you trailering it?

Are you looking for a paint to cover up old nasty gelcoat or are you looking for a protectant?

If you just want a new color for a trailered boat, I would use awlgrip. I use it on my boat and leaves a beautiful hard finish. Get an expert to apply it or do your research first.

If you want to keep it in the water all of the time, you're going to need something with a high copper content, like Trinidad anti-fouling paint. Follow the directions for application.

 

[huskerdaninva]

Re: bottom paint?

Ditto what the other repsones have indicated. IF you keep your boat on a trailer, you can get by w/o the "bottom" paint. FWIW, I just finished painting my old 1969 Chrysler Valiant 14' (The original gel coat finish was too far gone.) and while it didn't come out perfect, I'm happy. More importantly my wife and son are happy.
I used Rustoleum Topside Paint, about $12.00 a qt at Lowes, and also used Rustoleum Marine Primer (White). I sanded down my old fiberglas with 200 grit, cleaned, wiped down with ammonia mix, wipe down again then applied two coats of primer, and two coats of finish color (three in some spots) with a cheap little low pressure spray gun I bought for about $15.00 hooked to my small compressor. (ended up using 2 qts of primer and about 2.5 qts of color, with plenty left for touch up/repair.) Let dry/cure for about a week and a half.

I'll try and get some pix up, but I'm having issues posting shots. Anyway, I didn't spend $75.00 in materials and while it is not a show quality paint job by any means, it beats some of the Earl Schieb/ Maaco jobs I've seen on cars over the years! Give it a shot, it' not hard, but the key is preparation!!

Good luck...

 

[GKT]

Re: bottom paint?

yeah, for some reason it has the anti fouling bottom paint on it and its trailored...i guess once upon a time it just stayed in the water. so i just sand off all the old crap and put primer and then regular topside paint? im wondering how do i actually paint the bottom? how can i get the boat off of the trailor to do the work? do i have to build something to support it up out of 2x6's or something? what grit sandpaper do i use?

 

[huskerdaninva]

Re: bottom paint?

I'm no expert, but I think you may need to find out "what" is on the bottom exactly. I may be wrong, but I believe some of those bottom paints have serious chemicals/additives and you may have to wear a respirator etc. if you remove the finish. I guess I'm just saying to be careful.

As for getting the boat off of the trailer, I had taken the motor off of mine and literally stripped everything off but the rub rail moulding and the windshield mounting clips and used my engine hoist/cherry picker to lift my boat off of the trailer and suspend it in the air so I could clean/prep/paint. I used some heavy duty ratchet straps connected to my bow eye and the two stern eyes. Worked like a charm, but I was REAL careful and my boat empty only weighs about 500 lbs. You also need to know if your boat has foam in the hull, is it water logged? That can add a LOT of weight to your boat. Hope this helps some, again I've got pix of all this I just gotta figure out why I' m having issues! Good luck...

 

[huskerdaninva]

Re: bottom paint?

OK, I think I have the picture gremlins at bay, so I'll try and post the pix of my boat up off of the trailer on my cherry picker and give you some ideas...

 

[Beefer]

Re: bottom paint?

It sounds like what is currently on the bottom is an Ablative paint. This will wear off over time. It's also referred to as 'self polishing', because it slowly comes off the boat (intentionally). Save yourself the headache of sanding/scraping/blasting it off, and just leave it. It doesn't hurt the boat, and only has a slight impact on performance. And I mean slight. When it gets way worn down, and there isn't much left, then take the rest of it off when it won't be a weekend project.

Just my $0.02

 

[GKT]

Re: bottom paint?

thanks guys... i guess ill just wait until it all comes off...it is chipping off like crazy now and i can see the gelcoat underneath but it looks all scratched up. ill just wait and then ill get the whole thing painted by a professional. its a 20ft center console so i dont think i could just pick it up like that with a motor jack...but i might could with a tractor...hmm

 

[huskerdaninva]

Re: bottom paint?

I've seen good ol' boys here in Virginia rig up some pretty unusual things with trees, 2x6's, chain cumalongs, rail road track sections, i-beams, etc. Some I would have sworn wouldn't hold up a canary that lifted an entire 4wd truck.